WorkTunes Hearing Protection Muffs
These "WorkTunes" hearing-protection muffs from AO Safety have a built in AM/FM radio. It's like the headphone Walkmen Sports all over again, complete with black-and-yellow design. Listen to talk radio while you jackhammer.
You can pick up a pair of WorkTunes for around $60.
Groove To WorkTunes [Toolmonger]
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I'm waiting for the first death-by-wrecking-ball because a worker couldn't hear a shouted warning over Rush Limbaugh's shouted warnings.
Artbot is right.
But I would love to have a regular pair of headphones that looked like this. Wonder if regular safety muffs are modable...
no mp3 in this day and age?
Although you could use one of 'em fancy FM transmitters
...
if they worked
As an Audiologist & Hearing Therapist I've got to worry about the signal to noise ratio that's going to kick in when you try to use these things. 22dB attenuation's not bad, but it's not great. Most frequencies have to be at least 10dB above the noise floor to be detectable so if you're working in a not unreasonable 90dB of noise, you're getting 68dB coming through, but then you crank up the radio and just to hear it's on you're at 78, near the danger level. To make it comfortable and clear you'll have to go much louder. I wonder if anyone's done any in-situ real ear measures with these?
What Audiotherapist said. (Probably better than I could as s/he gave noise levels)
That was what I was thinking. A device meant to protect your eardrums from damage shouldn't be adding extra noise to the mix, especially since, like audiotherapist said, most people would turn the volume way up in a noisy environment. It seems plausible that in some corner cases this could actually be worse than not wearing protection.
.....because there's nothing safer than a hungover contractor listening to '80s hair music at level 10 around power tools and heavy machinery...
ITS A STUPID AND UNSAFE PRODUCT!!!!
@3 According to the link: "The built-in jack allows you to connect your mp3 player or, if you’re at the race track, your scanner". But, agreeing with most other comments, it seems very unsafe and stoopid.
These (or similar) are pretty common for tractor drivers in my agrarian home town.
As pointed out, the attenuation is no good for really noisy stuff like jackhammers, angle grinders and jet engines.
But if you have to work somewhere with constant low level noise all day (such as a server room or riding a lawnmower) then these cut down on both ear fatigue AND boredom.
From my experience, the MP3 jack on these types of things bypass the amp and run to the speakers, but you still have to turn the power on. So when you listen to your MP3 player, and bump the volume, it blasts you with FM.
Also, being a metalworker, I use my own hearing protection (modified with speakers inside) and I love it. I don't try to turn it up louder than the occasional power tool or hammer blow. I turn it up loud enough to hear when there are no tools running, and just deal with not hearing anything when I'm using a grinder.
#1 and #7 have me covered.